I have previously devised a toothbrush for infants which incorporates a handle design that is easy to grip and manipulate, all as set forth and described in my hereinbefore referred to Pat. No. 5,138,737, and which is incorporated by reference herein. Now it is proposed to incorporate a handle of that type as a holder for various utensils and particularly eating utensils for younger children which can be easily grasped and manipulated while minimizing the danger of injury to the mouth or becoming lodged in the mouth or throat.
Infant utensil holders and particularly for feeding utensils have been devised in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,625,003 to M. W. Walker discloses a generally loop-shaped handle which serves as a part of a baby boom. Pat. No. 4,207,673 to M. DiGirolamo et al discloses a utensil handle which can be electrically controlled to receive different utensils. U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,793 to A. C. Crapio is directed to a handle which will facilitate releasable attachment of different utensils; and Design Patent No. 318,401 to M. W. Beaumont discloses a generally loop-shaped handle as a part of a utensil holder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,921 to M. E. W. Dinner also disclose an infant toothbrush which includes a handle in the form of an oval ring to facilitate gripping by an infant. Other representative patents in this field are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,065,170 to H. Poettich, 1,618,189 to A. J. Hansen, 2,762,120 to F. J. Mack, 3,865,115 to P. DeMieri, 4,821,417 to A. H. Levine, Design 132,441 to M. E. Graves, Design 161,359 to H. C. Milne, Design 167,623 to N. C. Eue, Design 168,021 to J. DeHymel and Design 191,406 to N. A. Newmark.
Nevertheless, the patents referred to above fail to address the problem of providing a handle for a utensil holder which can be easily grasped and manipulated by an infant or anyone with limited motor skills but at the same time will greatly minimize the danger of injury to the mouth or of becoming lodged in the mouth or throat. When the utensil holder is used with eating utensils, it is desirable that the handle be so oriented with respect to the utensil as to encourage grasping by the infant with the eating surface of the utensil facing in an upward direction for ease of picking up food and directing it into the mouth; and the grasp required to hold the handle assists the smaller muscle groups of the infant or child so that the child can obtain more control over the utensil with less effort. The grip of the fingers also acts as a brace to the wrist, forcing it to remain stationary, thereby substantially decreasing the infant's ability to accidentally spill or deliberately fling food from the utensil. Further, there is a need for a utensil holder in which the handle will permit interchangeable use with different utensils or implements, such as, a toothbrush, feeding utensils, pencils and crayons and whether formed as a permanent part of the holder or interchangeably inserted into the handle portion and in such a way as not to be removable by the infant.